It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Offering ourselves to God is what we worship about. Let us share our talents and resources to God with all our hearts and souls as one network of the Catholic Media that is pro-life, pro-people, pro-poor, service and community oriented.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Senate adjourns session on high note

MANILA-Having
approved more than 19 bills and 41 resolutions, the Senate adjourns sine die
today, marking the end of the first regular session of the 16th Congress.
Senate sessions will resume on June 27.

Senate
President Franklin M. Drilon said senators of this Congress registered “a
strong legislative performance, which continues to improve even amid
issues."

“Throughout
the past months, we have made exhaustive efforts to successfully legislate
several challenging measures that are of paramount interest and importance to
our people, especially in terms of improving the quality of Filipino life, and
reforming public service,” Drilon said.

“Despite
the many concerns and challenges that the Senate as an institution had to face
– such as the pork barrel scam – I believe the details of our work show that
legislation remains the Chamber’s main focus, and that we are able to
effectively deliver on our commitment to our citizenry and our nation,” he added.

Drilon
cited the works and achievements of the senators, who from July 22, 2013 to
June 11, 2014, passed five bills which were signed into law, including passing
in record time of the 2014 General Appropriations Act. Ten more bills are
presently waiting for the signature of the President. In the same period, the
Senate approved eight bills on second and third reading and adopted 41
resolutions.

Drilon
said that in several aspects, the legislative performance of the current
senators had outpaced that of previous Congresses. “We approved fifteen bills
on final reading when senators in the 15th Congress approved only nine bills
within the same period of time,” he said.

It
also concurred in the ratification of three international treaties with Spain,
the United Kingdom and India.

Drilon
said senators focused on passing landmark bills on health, economy and
government reforms such as the historic Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) or
(Senate Bill Number 1733) and the amendments to the Sandiganbayan Law (SBN
2138).

He
said the disclosure of government actions under the FOI bill would be a
“crucial and effective deterrent against possible malfeasance and corrupt
practices by those in power.”

Once
enacted into law, Drilon said the amendments to the Sandiganbayan Law will
address the increasing backlog of cases in court.

The
Senate had also approved measures to boost the national economy and consumer
welfare such as SBN 2046 or the Go Negosyo Act sponsored by Sen. Bam Aquino IV,
which seeks to reduce poverty by developing micro, small and medium
enterprises, and SBN 2159 or the “liberalization of entry of foreign banks in
the Philippines.”

Drilon
also noted the passage of House Bill No. 353, which would require
telecommunication companies to provide free alerts for mobile phone users in
time of disasters, SBN 2043 or the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) bill
which seeks to consolidate the training and certification of Filipino seafarers
under a single maritime administration, and SBN 1831 which aims to extend the
service and corporate life of the Philippine National Railways for another 50
years.

Drilon
said the Senate also approved landmark bills for the protection of public
health such as the SBN 27 or the Graphic Health Warning Act and SBN 2273, or the
amendments to strengthen the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

He
said other priority measures remain in the legislative agenda, and they “look
forward to discussing and passing these proposed legislation.” At the moment,
19 committee reports on bills that are under plenary debate or period of
amendments are pending.

"When
we resume session, we will also work to increase the tax exemption ceiling of
the 13th month pay, Christmas bonuses and other benefits from P30, 000 to P75,
000, so our humble workers can go home during the holidays without having to
worry about decreases in their bonuses," Drilon said.

"We
also have in our sights other fiscal and financial pieces of legislation such
as the Anti-Trust Bill, amendments to the Fiscal Incentives Rationalization
Act, and reforms to the Cabotage Law. Similarly, we are going to study the
possibility of creating a Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT) and a fair competition act.

As
agreed upon with the leadership of the House of Representatives, Drilon said
they will "soon discuss the possibility of economic provisions to the
Constitution to improve the country's ability to invite foreign direct
investment. Drilon said the Senate will
promptly act on legislating the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which is integral to the
peace process in Mindanao.

Other
measures in the Senate’s priority list will be bills on education, mainly the
Iskolar ng Bayan Act, and the ladderized and distant learning programs for
higher education.